Abstract
In recent years, rural villages of India have found a place on the tourist map of the world. Not only does rural tourism provide an additional source of income to the villagers but it also helps showcase the rural life and culture of the people, such as art, crafts, and heritage, etc., of the village and community. At present, most of the states of India are facing many challenges for the implementation of rural tourism projects, which stands against achieving the objective of the project set-up by the Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India. Some of the problems are very grave and need immediate attention of the administration. The Department of Tourism, Govt. of Odisha, has identified eight villages in the state for implementation of the Rural Tourism project. Padmanavapur, a village in South Odisha is one of them. The author has taken this village to study the impact of rural tourism on the socio-cultural life of the local community. The chapter indicates that the village has a high potential for tourists, but due to the delay in implementation and completion of the project, the stakeholders are not getting the desired benefits.
TopLiterature Review
As per the definition of the UN-WTO rural tourism product is that gives to visitors personalized contacts, a taste of physical and human environment of country side and as far as possible allow them to participate in the activities traditions and life styles of local people. There are variety of terms used to describe tourism in rural areas including rural life, art culture and heritage at rural location even farm tourism, agri-tourism etc. Oppermann (1997) felt “rural tourism as that occurs in non-urban setting where human activities is present (Beeeton, 2006). Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India defines “Any form of tourism that show cases the rural life, art, culture and heritage at rural locations there by benefiting the local community economically and socially as well as enabling interaction between the tourists and the locals for more enriching tourism experience can be termed as rural tourism.” Rural tourism is essentially an activity which takes place in the countryside. In India the important role of cooperative society in promoting tourism is yet to be recognized. So tourism through community participation has yet to be popularized in a big way. Some countries are using rural tourism as a development strategy to improve the social and economic well being of rural area. Benefits of rural tourism have been expressed as employment growth and broadening a regions economic base, there is repopulation, social improvement, revitalization of local crafts etc. (Sharpley, 2000).
There is no commonly accepted definition of rural tourism. Some authors view rural tourism as a panacea for rural areas others are more skeptical. The model of Beeton (2006) explain the complex nature of rural tourism. This model indicates the relationship between tourism and rural village. The community is the central theme of the rural tourism concept which cannot be replaced.
Figure 1.
Rural Tourism. Adopted from Beeton (2006, p. 143)
Objectives of the Study
The objectives of the study are:
- 1.
To understood the potential of the study village.
- 2.
To analyze the economic and social impact of rural tourism that have occurred in the weaving village of Padmanavapur.
- 3.
Identify the challenges to the rural tourism development in the study village.
- 4.
To make recommendation on the basis of the finding of the study for implementation of scheme offered by Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Rural Tourism: The development of infrastructure in rural areas having potential for tourism is being supported under the existing scheme of destination development. The objective is to showcase rural life, art, culture, and heritage at rural locations and in villages, which have core competence in arts and crafts, handloom, and textiles as also an asset base in the natural environment.
Socio Economic Impact: The intention is to benefit the local community economically and socially as well as enable interaction between tourists and the local population for a mutually enriching experience. Under this scheme, the thrust is to promote village tourism as the primary tourism product to spread tourism and its socio-economic benefits to rural and new geographic regions, thereby stopping the exodus from rural to urban areas. The Village Level Council (VLC) is the interactive forum for local community participation in work plan implementation, further supported by other community level institutions.